When I was in Texas back in February, G was not the only member of my family who was unhappy that I had gone away. Sam too expressed his displeasure by peeing on the sofa in my office. He had done the foul deed before, and I was fit to be tied, and one of my first tasks upon my return was googling such fascinating subjects as "cat pees on furniture" which proved to be worthwhile as I learned about the usefulness of vodka, to whit:
Cats don't like the smell
It removes odors
It removes stains
After I poured vodka in a spray bottle and liberally dosed the scene of the crime, I was shocked at how good my pale gray sofa looked, all the rings and pee stains almost magically disappeared. I put the vodka aside and forgot about it.
Until last week when I was despairing over stains that were not coming out of linen napkins and thoughts that I might have to resort to special actions such as:
using only paper napkins
keeping two sets of napkins, one marked G,and one for general use, or
using linen napkins myself and giving G only paper napkins, further stigmatizing him,
when it occurred to me that I still had a bottle of vodka in the house, and if it worked on a sofa it might just work on badly stained napkins. After all, what did I have to lose (except some good vodka).
So I doused the stains with the vodka and allowed them to sit. Then I put the napkins in their normal pre-treat enzymatic bath for a few hours, then washed them. They came out mostly stain free, and they ironed beautifully as well. Well linen usually irons beautifully and perhaps they just seemed special because I was so happy, but I do think they ironed up just a little more crisply than usual, but not at all as stiff as if I had starched them.
Now of course, I used good vodka in this experiment because that is what I had in the house in the mistaken idea that I should have vodka that I like to drink. This sounds good except that I really don't drink vodka. I would be surprised if I drank vodka twice a year, and then probably only when I am out, not at home. So the next bottle will be your basic cheap vodka. I am sure it will work just as well.
Comments
21 responses to “Vodka as household necessity”
Hmm, will have to keep this in mind! I wonder if there’s some residual potato starch in the vodka that contributed to the crispness of your linen napkins?
Fascinating. I have never heard of this but I will keep it in mind. Not that I’m ever getting a cat!
Vodka has been a BIG no no at our house, but this sounds like such a curious cure, I may have to invest in a small flask.
I cannot wait to try this on my stained linen napkins! Could it work on stubborn clothing stains as well? Methinks I shall try with something I don’t particularly care if I ruin further. Thanks so much, Mardel. I would never have known of this without you.
I’m glad your stains came out. I was a little concerned when I saw that bottle that you might have cracked from the stress of your move.
Life is too short to save the good stuff. Put your nicest napkins and tableware out and if they get stained or broken too bad. You’ll have fun buying new.
You can also put it in a spray bottle, and mist your bedsheets. It freshens a bed.
Bad kitty! Ours, “Mr. C.” had a very specific target: shoes, ours or houseguests. We had to put them up high, and once I replaced a pair of sandals that a gf had kicked off without us noticing.
I do love a vodka martini or a cosmo, a special, occasional treat. But since you put the thought in my head I may have one sooner than later. Bad Mardel!
I’ll keep this in mind! A couple tablespoons of Vodka also helps keep pie dough dry during rolling and when shaping it in the pan.
Wow! What a wonderful idea! I am going to have to try that – not that our current crop of kitties have misbehaved, but the previous seniors did have some staining accidents. Not their fault, as they were quite, quite senior.
Oooohh! Natural Febreze!
And after attending to the household chores, a nice lemon drop. Mmmmm mmmmm!
Pseu, I don’t know about the potato starch and the crispness may have been just my overwhelming joy. The stain-removal was true though.
Kristin and Terri, the stain removal aspect continues though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend vodka for everyone.
LisaB, I sprayed the vodka on a pair of white jeans which were wearable except for one big gray stain that had not washed out and had been sitting around since last summer. I hadn’t wanted to use bleach because of what it does to the lycra, but the vodka solved the problem.
Rose, I agree that life is too short. I like napkins. It ends up that G might prefer paper, he worries about it every day, even though he has eaten on linen napkins all his life. A compromise might be in the works.
Duchesse, really? on the bedsheets? Well I suppose the alcohol dissipates, but the air in the laundry room has quite a vodka haze after a heavy spay session, so yes, I have filled my own special spray bottle.
I haven’t had a cosmo for years, it was something I had with a certain friend whom I also haven’t seen in a while. Must correct that. I prefer my martinis with gin and like a negroni even more.
Susan, I will have to try that with the pie dough.
sz, yeah, I suppose I can live with the vodka and the elderly cat and spouse. I am often reminded of a trip to the Alzheimer’s Home where G’s mother resided during her last few years, when asked why they had vinyl cladding on all the corners of the interior walls: “old men like old dogs pee in corners”.
Diane, I have to find my way out to San Francisco and have another Lemon Drop.
I am definitely getting some vodka to keep here in the house (hiccup) Any left over from drinking will help the condition of my linens. Thanks for the great idea!
Well, Barbara, sometimes I think there is something to be said about spraying the linens and breathing the fumes, but the vodka actually may make it out of the laundry room more than once.
Mardel
Who knew? I’m going to try this on a collar of one of my favorite shirts that I noticed had a small, barely-visible stain.
And a negroni is my favorite drink, too!
Negroni Lovers Unite! I continue to be impressed with the vodka cure for stains. Good luck.